blug

1. DL offered the $520 fare. People bought it. And then DL considers those people jacka$$?

2. Midwest flyers pay $1k on 1000MQM not because they are loyal to DL. They have to because they are hub captive, or DL provides the only non-stop where they need to go. There's no need to reward them. They will continue to fly DL even if DL cancels the entire loyalty program.

3. Those $520 buyers are more loyal because those markets have lots of competitions, and they can easily switch carrier. You may argue that DL doesn't want them anyway, but if so, why did DL offer the $520 fare in the first place?

FlyDeltaJets87

I figured it was only a matter of time before this came down the pipe (assuming it's all true and it's here to stay). From DL's perspective, it makes sense. DL's goal is first and foremost to make a profit, so it makes sense to reward the flyers who bring in THE MOST PROFIT. I'm not for or against these changes but I do see Delta's reasoning behind the change.

And Delta will say "Don't let the door hit you on the way out". The benefits DL provides with your status cost DL money. The only way Delta can continue to justify those benefits is if you're bringing in enough revenue to offset the benefits Delta is providing. It's not too hard to figure out. Delta is going after people like you with this. You may not like it, but that's how it goes. DL was realizing too many people were really learning how to play the game and how to maximize it, so DL had to change the game.

FlysthruBNA

My hope in that question is "Yes." I'm the primary traveler and it would be booked on the same itinerary.

rylan

Don't see any reason why it would. Miles, MQM, and segments are credited to the skymiles member who flies on the ticket. I'm certain spend will also be credited to the ticket holder and not the purchaser.

itsaboutthejourney

Honesty, integrity and mutual respect*


(SkyMiles and Corp Comm exempt)

FlyDeltaJets87

Hopefully not. What about people who travel on corporate accounts? It's the same with Skymiles. They go to the person traveling, not the person paying. DL doesn't care who is paying, just that they're getting money for that butt in that seat.

FederalFlyer

I'm not sure I 100% understand the motivation behind the changes.

First, it ups the bonus from MQM 50% to 100% on paid FC. But I would suspect that those paying for FC are among the least likely to actually chase status... being as they get all the benefits of status with their paid FC ticket. So, on average, it rewards those that least care about being rewarded. Furthermore, I don't see how this incentivizes those that fly FC on a competitor to switch their loyalty to DL.

Second, it appears to keep the MQM 50% bonus in place for Y and B fares, while getting rid of it on M fares. Perhaps this will motivate some M fare flyers to pay up to Y/B (which would increase revenue) but, on the other hand, I would imagine it will drive just as many M fare customers down to lower price fares since they're all equal in terms of MQM accrual at this point. (decreasing revenue). Also, those that make status flying M fares that can not move up Y/B fares are going to be the most hurt by this change... and yet it would also seem that these customers are some of DL's most valuable.

As to the MQD requirement... since it's an additional requirement, all it serves to do is to, in theory, thin out those that accrue tons of MQMs at low cost. Sure, some of those people are the "gamers" of DL status. But the true "gamers" of cheap MQMs can just as easily game Amex spend to opt out of this requirement. In fact, I suspect most "gamers" already do generate over $25k in Amex spend for the MQM bonuses. So they're not really going to be thinned out. Instead, I would imagine those being thinned the most by this requirement are the business travelers who's companies always book the lowest fare tickets. Although, I suppose this could drive Amex spend by those customers (increasing revenue).

Anyway... just my 2 cents.

StayingHomeIsBetter

Now that the "announced" changes have returned to rumor status, will this thread be reopened?

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...nge-rumor.html

KyBrewer

Interesting. My hope would be no as both my wife and I would need spend to qualify. But probably 90-95% of our travel is for leisure so I guess we would just have to track whose turn it is to pay.

We certainly have no interest in trying to spend 50,000 a year combined on our two Delta Amex.

ShopAround

Depends on your usage. I have a DL AX for my business but sometimes don't make the $25,000 spend because of AX's Foreign Transaction Fee. Many of my charges are in euros and it makes more sense to use my Capital One and keep the extra 2.7%.

StayingHomeIsBetter

You are searching for something that you only presume exists... a well thought out rational basis.

exwannabe

Agreed, the MQD will certainly go to the flyer.

StayingHomeIsBetter

Do you suppose this was the web site equivalent of an inebriated "Reply All" faux pas?

BNAChairman

Didn't DL attempt a variant of this revenue based approach 10 years ago when they stopped counting segments toward elite qualification? They had a complex chart with a variety of MQM earnings based on fare paid. It didn't last very long.

Soros

I just cancelled all my revenue flights with KE, DL.

No more flying It has been great past several years.